Edge of Night
by Fool of a Brandybuck
Summary: Merry showed Pippin the small, old abandoned cottage he found in the forest on outskirts of Hobbiton. Surely Pippin and he will get loads of fun exploring the place; making it their own hideaway. But that very night, Merry shouldn't have left the sleeping Pippin alone. He couldn't bare looking at him afterward what happened... (Rated M just in case). NO SLASH. MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH


**My 4th one so far... I'm not entirely sure about the ending, but sometimes you just have to go with it. It ended up _much_ darker than I thought it was going to be! I rated it M just in case._ I understand these stories aren't for everybody!_ So please, if you are offended or disgusted by any of this, I don't wanna know, just close the page. But if you do like it, please give a review! It'd mean a lot. ****If you don't understand why I write major character deaths in my stories, please read my profile page...**

* * *

"So," Pippin started, "Where are we going?"

"Pippin, I swear, if you ask that one more time..." Merry warned him. Merry was on his way to take him to a secret cottage he found just outside Hobbiton not too long ago. No one knew about the abandoned building, so he thought it was just the perfect place for them to explore.

"But where are we going, Merry?" Pippin whined once again. "Tell me. I'm terrible at surprises."

As much as Merry loved his little cousin, he sure could be a pain in the neck at the best of times.

Merry sighed quietly, "We're almost there, Pippin. Just keep up." Merry walked in front of him, leading him down the last track to the cottage.

And once they got there, it was more excluded and wonderful than Merry last remembered. He pulled back a branch that was in the way, and the view of the cottage became clear. Merry studied Pippin's face, which was filled with excited joy.

"I've never seen this place before." Pippin whispered as he stared at the building and slowly walked towards it, exploring it's detail with his eyes.

"Aye. I found it. It's abandoned, no one's been here for ages. It's just for us, now." Merry smiled at his cousin, who gave him a massive grin back at him.

"Race you to the door." Pippin started running before Merry had a chance to reply, "Hey, that's no fair!" Merry called to him as he let the branch go and ran after Pippin.

"Is too! Try to keep up, slow poke!" Pippin ran through the trees and on the dirt track that led down the slight hill to the cottage.

Pippin beat Merry to the door, and started panting, leaning against its frame. Merry finally caught up and smirked at the younger hobbit, "You really need to get in shape there, Pippin."

Pippin went to reply, but his breath still hadn't come back.

"It's all the pipeweed you smoke and the turkey you eat.; and those blueberries too!" Merry commented as he smugly lent against the wall, folding his arms as he looked at the puffed out lad.

" Hey," Pippin looked up at Merry, "blueberries are amazing!" Pippin paused to get his breath back and smiled. "I still beat you, though." He told him as he stood up right, his breath now back.

Merry gave him a stern but playful look, "You only won because you got a head start! That doesn't count. I call a rematch!" Merry ordered and he pointed at Pippin.

Pippin just laughed, "Maybe next time." He told him, "But for now, it's still zero to one."

Merry sighed as Pippin opened the door. Pippin could be so damn stubborn at times too. Not only was he a pain in the neck _and_ stubborn, but he was also curious. A recipe for trouble, that was.

Merry followed his cousin into the dark building. The windows had gathered dust over the many years, which caused little sunlight to shine through.

Pippin yelped loudly and Merry jumped in fright as he heard a loud clang. The younger had tripped over a metal bucket on the floor in his path.

"Oops." He looked back at Merry and apologized and he straighten himself out again.

Merry just smiled and shook his head as he inspected the room the best he could. He hadn't actually been inside the house before, and was quite surprised it was open.

It was very dark and the wooden floors creaked under their pressure and shadows were cast all over the room. He could see a set of small wooden table and chairs, as well as a pile of wet, moist firewood in the corner past the lounge chairs. The place had a eerie, yet a lovely mystical feeling to it. He had a feeling Pippin and himself were going to have good times here in the near future.

* * *

They had been there for a while now. Already, they had dusted off the chairs and couches so they could sit and chat. They also as ran around carelessly and played tag, knocking over what were probably once treasured artifacts which were now smashed on the floor; meaning they had to sweet that up. They had also checked the pantry, but weren't surprised to see it was bare.

They cleaned and opened the windows for light and fresh air and lit some of the already burnt candles around the darker parts of the house; lastly, they searched for some proper firewood.

Now, after a few hours at this place, chatting and playing, right now, Merry and Pippin were comfortably sitting in the freshly dusted couches and watched the fireplace crackle lively.

"This is great. I want a home like this." Pippin suddenly broke the silence. "I want a home with many windows, something not under a hill... something sorta excluded from everyone else."

Merry stared at the fire too, listening to Pippin's ramblings.

"Except for me, of course." He said in a 'matter-of-fact' tone, smiling at Pippin.

"Of course!" Pippin grinned back at Merry, "That goes without saying. You and I could live together. We could just live here forever. Just us. Just the two of us." Pippin's voice went softer as he spoke and he sighed contently as he lent back, his head resting on the back of the chair as he closed his eyes.

Merry saw that as his queue to leave his own chair to retrieve a blanket for Pippin.

Placing the woolen fleece over Pippin to keep him warm, Merry looked back at the fire, which he noticed was starting to go out. He looked at the pile of moist firewood, then looked out the window. He saw it wasn't too dark yet, so he decided to quickly go hunting for some fresh firewood for the cool night ahead.

Kissing Pippin a goodnight kiss on the forehead, Merry headed out for a few minutes to search for wood to keep them warm.

But a few minutes was all it took for something to turn bad.

After Merry had left, Pippin shuffled in his sleep, turning over in the chair and trying to get snug. Pippin's hand tipped something off the table and his foot bumped into the coffee table; but he didn't even notice, he was dead asleep.

Merry didn't wonder far from the cottage, but as soon as he noticed it getting darker, he started heading back towards the building, bits of dried wood in hand. But it turned out he didn't need it. He gawped in horror as he looked at the smoke pouring from the opened windows and the bright orange and red fire rage through the house.

"PIPPIN!" Merry shouted and he dropped the wood and ran back downhill again, looking for a sign that Pippin had escaped the intense inferno. Merry didn't have any choice but to go into the burning cottage, since there was no sign of his friend anywhere outside.

Taking a deep breath, Merry wondered into the building, his wide eyes scanning through the pitch black smoke for anything that could resemble his cousin; but it was in vain. The flames had become too hot and the house started crumbling down. Merry had to get out of the house before he himself was killed.

And just in time too. Not a second later when he left the front door, at least half the house collapse to the ground, creating a massive flame causing many embers to float and fly away.

"PIPPIN!" His voice was coarse from shouting, and the black smoke he inhaled wasn't helping either. He ran around the burning house, looking for his cousin, hopping he had escaped the flames; but his heart fell when there was no one to be seen.

There was nothing Merry could do to prevent the flames. The only thing he could do was wait for the fire to go out to see whether his worst fears were true.

To Merry's surprise, the fire went out quicker than expected. Once the last flame was gone, Merry, without any hesitation, ran back into the blackened house, searching through rubble and ash and burnt furniture. He could feel the blisters already forming on his large feet from the heat, but he ignored them.

Reaching the living room that Pippin had been sleeping, Merry accidently kicked something. He looked down to see what used to be a candle holder.

Picking it up, he placed it back on the table once again where it had been before he left, next to the chair Pippin was in; and that's when he saw him. He saw a burnt , blistered hand poking from under rubble.

Merry didn't think it was possible; he thought his heart had stopped all together when after he had removed and brushed off all the ash he could, and removed what was left of the blanket, he saw the crisp remains of his cousin, still lying on the couch, though now he was in a fetal position.

Merry couldn't help but wail a little. Pippin had obviously been crying and in pain; he had been alone and crying during his last remaining moments of precious life and Merry couldn't do anything.

It was hard but easy to cry at that time. Merry had this small hope that maybe this wasn't Pippin, it didn't look like him. His hair had been burnt away and skin was blacked and blistered; he was unrecognizable.

But Merry knew. Merry knew that this figure was -used to be- his best friend in the world. If only he hadn't left. If only they didn't come here. If only he didn't discover this damned place!

Merry had to leave. He had to go back to Hobbiton to tell them what happened. There was no way he could look at that body anymore; it was too disfigured and warped. Merry wished he could just leave his body at this very moment and forget everything he saw. He wanted to remember Pippin way he used to be, not the way he was now.

* * *

They buried Pippin in the local grave site not 24 hours later.

Merry was, of course, not the only one who attended the burial, but to him, it felt like it were only him there. That it was only Merry left in the entire world.

"So," Merry muttered to the box that contained his best friend and cousin as it was lowered into the ground, "You know where you're going?"

A tear fell across Merry's face and the box disappeared into the ground. The other hobbits started to fill it up. That was the last time Merry would ever see Pippin again...

"You're going to a better place, Pippin. I promise."


End file.
